Contact:
Candice Wing-yee Mack
LitAwards@apalaweb.org
Release Date:
January 22, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2024 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature Winners
BALTIMORE – The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the 2024 winners of its Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature today during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, held Jan. 19-22 in Baltimore.
The Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature celebrate Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage. Winner and Honor books were selected from titles created by and about Asian Pacific Americans published between September 2022 through August 2023. The awards are based on literary and artistic merit in highlighting the Asian Pacific American experience in the following categories: Adult Fiction, Adult Non-Fiction, Young Adult Literature, Children’s Literature, and Picture Book.
The 2024 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature are:
Adult Fiction Winner: A History of Burning written by Janika Oza, and published by Grand Central Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. 9781538724248.
Intricate character development, poignant family drama, and emotional depth fill Janika Oza’s A History of Burning, which follows a South Asian family’s tumultuous migration across four generations and four continents in the 20th century and questions what it means to be an immigrant and how nationality is formed.
Adult Fiction Honor: Sea Change written by Gina Chung, and published by Vintage, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 9780593469347.
Adult Non-Fiction Winner: Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life written by Alice Wong, and published by Vintage, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 9780593315392.
Combining anecdotes, interviews, text messages, diary entries, and some graphic images, Alice Wong’s poignant and captivating memoir Year of the Tiger intimately portrays intersections of race, disability and justice and delivers a powerful message on ableism and disability issues that leaves a lasting impression on all readers.
Adult Non-Fiction Honor: The Trauma of Caste: A Dalit Feminist Meditation on Survivorship, Healing, and Abolition, written by Thenmozhi Soundararajan, and published by North Atlantic Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. 9781623177652.
Young Adult Winner: I’d Rather Burn Than Bloom, written by Shannon C. F. Rogers, and published by Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. 9781250845665.
After her mother’s death, 15-year-old Marisol tries to piece her life back together in an emotional, thoughtful exploration of pulling yourself up when you’ve made a mess of everything. Biracial Marisol sees her mother as her connection to Filipino culture, adding a layer of complexity to her grief throughout the story.
Young Adult Honor: In Limbo, written by Deb JJ Lee, and published by First Second, an imprint of Macmillan. 9781250252661.
Children’s Winner: Ruby Lost and Found, written by Christina Li, and published by Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. 9780063008939.
After getting in trouble at school, Ruby goes to live with her grandmother in Chinatown for the summer. There, Ruby and a new friend strategize to save a cherished local Chinatown bakery from closing. Through a multigenerational cast, Li explores gentrification, the cost of living, death, and the hope of new beginnings.
Children’s Honor: Parachute Kids: A Graphic Novel, written and illustrated by Betty C. Tang, and published by Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc. 9781338832693.
Picture Book Winner: The Truth About Dragons, written by Julie Leung and illustrated by Hanna Cha, and published by Henry Holt and Co, an imprint of Macmillan. 9781250820587.
A young boy explores a magical world conjured from his mother’s bedtime story. Mythic beings from eastern and western mythologies populate enchanted forests that unravel through lushly illustrated ink drawings. The stunning imagery and captivating storytelling pave an ingenious path toward exploring identity and the boy’s own mixed cultural heritage.
Picture Book Honor: Finding Papa, written by Angela Pham Krans and illustrated by Thi Bui, and published by HarperCollins. 9780063060968.
Each title will be presented and given the award seal during the annual APALA Literature Award Ceremony taking place during the 2024 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, CA.
For a complete list of Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, including awardees from previous years, please visit http://www.apalaweb.org/awards/literature-awards/.
The 2024 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature committee members include:
Award Committee: Co-Chair Candice Wing-yee Mack, Los Angeles Public Library; Co-Chair Zoë McLaughlin, Michigan State University, East Lansing; and Vice Chair Sandy Wee, San Mateo County Library, CA.
Adult Fiction Award Jury: Chair Sofia Leung, Brooklyn, NY; Tom Poehnelt, Niagara Falls Public Library, Eden, NY; Coleen Umali, San Francisco Public Library; Jenny Yap, Berkeley City College, Oakland, CA.
Adult Non-Fiction Award Jury: Chair Richard Cho, University of California, Irvine; Simon Lee, University of California, Los Angeles; Allan Cho, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Youth/Young Adult Literature Award Jury: Chair Helen Lee, Cambridge Public Library, MA; Erika Fitzpatrick, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Stafford, VA; Tiffani Lewis-Lockhart, Bellarmine College Preparatory, San Jose, CA; Jovy O’Grady, Harrison Public Library, NY; and Perlita Payne, Berkeley Public Library, CA.
Children’s Literature Award Jury: Chair Florence Tang, Tucker, Georgia; Andrew Chae, San Jose State University, CA; Danny Le, Santa Clara City Library, San Jose, CA; and Jen Woo, San Francisco Public Library.
Picture Book Award Jury: Co-Chair Hannah Park, American University, Washington, DC; Co-Chair Cynthia Mari Orozco, East Los Angeles College, Monterey Park, CA; Jerry Dear, San Francisco Public Library; Charlene Hsu Gross, DeKalb County Public Library, Ellenwood, GA; and Joy Shioshita, Berkeley Public Library, CA.
APALA’s Literature Award Committee is currently accepting submissions published between September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 for consideration for the 2025 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. More information may be found by contacting LitAwards@apalaweb.org and on APALA’s Literature Award Guidelines & Nomination page (https://www.apalaweb.org/awards/literature-awards/literature-award-guidelines/).
The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) was founded in 1980 by librarians of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestries committed to working together toward a common goal: to create an organization that would address the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/Pacific American communities.
###